Your Love Is Just A Lie
by Lenneko-chan
Summary: REWRITTEN! Riku is a school-skipping, nearly friendless, good-for-nothing orphan who hates the family he lives with. Axel is a shy, absolutely friendless guy who hates his family as well, but for a very different reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. **

**That being said, hi. Welcome to my story, Your Love Is Just A Lie. I published this story before, but I didn't really like it anymore. I didn't like some of the scenes, I didn't like the way it was written sometimes, the chapters were way too short. So in the end, I decided to delete the story altogether and rewrite it. I actually put the first three chapters of the first version into this first chapter of version 2.0.**

**Rated for violence and lemon in later chapters. I hope you'll enjoy this story ^^  
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><p>*Knock, knock*<p>

The woman knocking on the white bedroom door was being ignored.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

No really, knocking wouldn't help. He would not respond. Period. And she should _know_ he wouldn't. After all, hadn't he been living with her for the past, what, fifteen years? Wouldn't she ever learn?

And now she was going to be pissed and yell at him. Not that he'd care…

"Riku!" See? He was right. She was yelling at him. He imagined how her face was probably red by now, from anger. It was the same face he saw every day, so it wasn't hard to imagine. But she wasn't going to open the door. Why, he did not know, but she'd never once opened that door in six years.

"Riku!"

"What?" He sat upright in bed, an irritated scowl on his face. His long, silvery hair was messy, there was still sleep in his aquamarine eyes, and his teeth were clenched. This was officially his least favorite part of the day.

"Get up, you'll be late for school!" his mother yelled. Riku fell back on his mattress, covering his eyes with his hands.

"I don't want to…" he whined.

"What did you say?" his mother said. Riku sighed.

"I'm coming! I'm awake, dammit!" At that, his mother walked away from his door. Riku groaned, combing through his long hair with his fingers, messing it up a little more. He did _not_ want to get up. Being in a rebellious mood, he wrapped the blankets around himself once more, turned around, and closed his eyes. No, he really didn't want to get up. The peace was short lived, however, because Riku could hear his mother's footsteps again a few minutes later. She stopped in front of his door, once again knocking loudly.

"Riku, if you're not downstairs in three minutes, you'll have to go without breakfast! I won't say it again, young man!" she yelled.

"I'm awake, what more could you possibly want?" Riku mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing! I'll be there in a sec!" And as the footsteps went back downstairs, Riku sighed exasperatedly one last time before throwing off his blankets and sitting up. He didn't want to face his family, but his stomach had other plans. So he got up, got dressed, grabbed his bag, and left his room. He quickly ate his breakfast and left the house as soon as he could.

"And you are home at seven, you hear me?" his mother yelled before Riku forcefully shut the door.

}:{

Axel managed to sneak out of the house unnoticed. He lifted his schoolbag a little higher on his shoulder, and groaned in pain. Bad move. That was exactly the place that was covered with the most bruises. He lifted his bag on his other shoulder, which hurt as well, but not that bad. He made sure his jacket hid all of the bruises and scratches on his arms, and walked away. Luckily, his spiky red hair was long enough to cover his neck. Now there was only one problem: he couldn't take part in gym today. But he missed it so often, the teacher might start to wonder why. Maybe he shouldn't even go ask it. Maybe he should just stay away. On the other hand, his father would be furious once he would find out. And he _would_ find out. Axel knew he would.

}:{

Riku hated school, as in, he HATED-hated it. The subjects didn't interest him, the teachers were, in his opinion, a bunch of no-good chatterboxes, and the other students… well, they just weren't worth his time. Riku had no clue how he managed it to get through each and every year, but he did. He skipped school a lot, got a lot of detention, and a couple of lectures once he got home, and he didn't care. He had no idea what he wanted to do once he would graduate from high school. But one thing was for sure: he would get out of that house, out of this town, and never come back.

It should be mentioned that Riku didn't like his family. No, scratch that. He didn't like the people who were _supposed _to be his family. His parents weren't his biological parents. They were his adoptive parents. His _real_ parents couldn't take care of him, so they had put him in an orphanage when Riku was still a baby. He was adopted when he was two years old. He called these people 'mom' and 'dad', but he didn't care about them at all. The thing is: they didn't care about him either. They never said it, but Riku knew it. He knew it by the way they looked at him, he knew it by the way they talked to him, and most of all: he knew it by the way they treated their _real _children_._ Riku had two little 'brothers', and one little 'sister'. Saïx and Marluxia were ten-year-old fraternal twins. They were annoying, noisy, spoiled, and oh, how Riku would _love_ it to snap their necks some day. Putting duct-tape over their blaring little mouths would be fun too. Their sister, four-year-old Larxene, wasn't as bad as the twins… yet, but Riku didn't like her either. He just ignored her.

"Hey, Riku! How're you doing?"

Riku turned around as the voice snapped him out of his thoughts, looking at a cheerful guy he could call his best friend. Maybe even his only friend. He had spiky brown hair, and he was a bit shorter than Riku.

"Oh, hi," he responded mirthless. His friend raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, _you_ are in a talkative mood today. Did something happen?" he asked.

"I'm _fine_, Sora." Riku answered, hoping the other boy would get the hint and stop talking. He didn't like talking, and only said what he thought should be said. Which wasn't much most of the time. Sora shrugged.

"If you say so. By the way, could I borrow your notes for Physics?"

"Sora, I never take any notes. Borrow Roxas'."

"How do you manage to get scores like yours if you don't take notes?"

"I always sit next to that physics-freak, remember?"

"You copy from Zexion? No way! He'd never let you!" Sora said with wide eyes. Zexion, a quiet guy boy of fourteen years old, was a young genius, and Riku wouldn't be surprised if the boy would graduate this year.

"Well, I do it anyway."

"So you didn't study for today's test?"

"Nope."

"Phwuh, you lucky bastard." Sora snorted. Riku couldn't help but smirk. It wasn't _his_ fault he didn't have to work in order to pass each and every one of his classes.

During the test, Riku copied from Zexion as usual. Mr. Even, their teacher, didn't notice. He never did. Zexion knew it, but, contrary to popular belief, didn't care. Once Riku was done, he searched his pockets for rubber bands. When Mr. Even wasn't looking, Riku shot them away with his fingers in every possible direction. Accidentally, the last one hit Mr. Even on his head. The man turned around with a very angry face. He looked directly into Axel's bright green eyes, who sat in front of Riku.

"Did you do that, young man?" he asked Axel.

"No, sir," Axel answered truthfully.

"Did you see who did it?" Mr. Even asked then. Axel shook his head.

"No, sir. But it seemed to come from behind me." Axel then pointed over his should, straight at Riku. Well, that sucked. Mr. Even then looked at Riku.

"Did you do it?" he asked. Riku shook his head.

"No, sir." Mr. Even didn't seem to buy it. He looked at Riku, and then at Axel, and then back at Riku. Then he smirked.

"Well, it has to be either one of you, and since neither of you is willing to cooperate, that'll mean detention for the both of you," he announced with a satisfied grin. Riku shrugged. It wasn't like detention bothered him, since he got it so often. Axel tried to change his teacher's mind, but Mr. Even pointedly ignored him.

}:{

"Why didn't you just tell him the truth? There's no need to get Axel in trouble," Sora told his friend just as their last class for the day ended. Riku shrugged. He knew it hadn't been fair, but then again, he didn't play fair to begin with. He hadn't seen Axel after Physics had ended, and he had to admit he was glad he hadn't.

"No real reason. I just felt like it," he answered his friend. Sora didn't drop the topic.

"Did Axel do something to you? Seriously, you get detention so often, but you've never dragged anyone into your trouble. So what's the deal?"

"Sora, as I told you, there is no reason! Could we please talk about something else? Or, don't talk at all, that would be even better." Riku growled. He sometimes wondered why he was friends with the brunet in the first place. The guy could talk for hours on end. Sora raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, don't take it out on me! I just wanted to…"

"I know, Sora, I _know_! I just…" Riku combed through his hair irritably, suddenly feeling tired. Sora seemed to calm down a bit when he saw his friend's face.

"Hey, it's okay, let's just forget about it, okay?" he said softly. Riku sighed. That was just like Sora. Ever the peacemaker.

"Yeah. Thanks."

They walked to the beach in silence, just enjoying the other's company. The wind was cool, but not cold. The sound of the waves was strong, yet soothing. It was like some sort of therapy to Riku, a way to escape from every day's trouble. A way to escape the reality he didn't like. Being with Sora always made him feel good. These were the moments he actually smiled. Too bad those moments couldn't last forever. All too soon, Sora looked at his watch.

"Hey, Riku, it's about time I go home. It's almost seven," he said with a sad face. Riku's smile fainted.

"Yeah, okay… I… I think I'll stay here for a little longer," he said, and he walked away. Sora sighed. He knew how things were at Riku's place, so he couldn't blame his friend for not wanting to go home. He made the decision in a split second.

"Hey! Riku!" he cried. Riku turned around. "What?"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure!" Riku replied happily, his face brightening. He didn't think about what his parents would do to him for this. He didn't care. He never did. He never even _worried_. He just wanted to be away from that house as far and much as possible. So Riku and Sora walked to Sora's house. It was about ten past seven when they arrived. Riku knew his mother would be furious right about now.

Sora's mother gave them a warm welcome, as she always did. Riku often wished _she_ was his mother. She treated him like he was a son of hers, and Sora's father wasn't any different. Sora's family was a so-called happy family, and Riku desperately want to be a part of it. As always, Sora's mother invited him for dinner.

"I'd love to, Mrs. Yikida. I'll call my mother to tell her." Riku answered politely. When Sora's mom was gone, Riku took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the number of his home. He always let his parents know where he was when he wasn't at home in time (which happened most days), just so that they wouldn't go looking for him. They had done that once, and Riku had been in a lot of trouble afterwards. After a few seconds, someone picked up.

"Mom?" he said when he heard his mother's voice.

"Riku! Where the _hell_ are you?" she yelled. She always yelled, like she didn't know any other volume, or tone.

"Mom, I'm fine. I'm at Sora's place. I don't think I'll come home tonight. Bye." Riku turned his cell phone off, so that his mother couldn't bother him any longer than necessary. The phone calls were always like this. He'd say where he was, say whether or not he'd come home that night, and then hang up. Easy. He was glad that his parents didn't know Sora's full name, his phone number, or his address. He had told them that his best friend's name was Sora, and nothing more.

Riku couldn't sleep that night. He slept in Sora's room, on a mattress next to his friend's bed. He watched Sora's face, and listened to his soft breathing, wishing he would one day feel just as peaceful as Sora looked.

}:{

Axel couldn't sleep either, but for a different reason. His whole body hurt like hell. He tried to find a comfortable way to lie, so that he could get some sleep, but he failed big time. His pale skin was decorated with more bruises than he could count, but at least his lip had stopped bleeding, although it was still very swollen. His heart skipped a beat when he heard a sound in the room that was next to his. His parents' room. He sighed in relief when he realized it was only his father's snoring.

}:{

The next day at school would turn out to be a very interesting one. Nothing happened during the first few hours, but then the bell for lunch break rang. Riku and Sora walked out of the classroom, and decided to spend the next twenty minutes of free time in the park next to the school. They sat down below a large oak. It was one of their favorite places to be, a place where they couldn't be seen easily, because the tree was so enormous.

"I'm surprised Axel hasn't done anything to you yet." Sora said, while eating a sandwich. Riku shrugged.

"I'd say he's just a coward. And besides, what could he do to me? He's so skinny. I'd be surprised if the guy could lift two schoolbags at the same time."

"Aren't you going too far now?" Sora asked. "I'm sure he doesn't weight ,uch more than I do, but he's taller than you are. Give the guy some credit, Riku." Riku didn't answer. Sora sighed and got up.

"I'm done eating. Come on, English will start in five minutes."

"I'm not going." Riku said. Sora abruptly stopped getting his stuff together.

"But you've skipped that the past… eight time or so! You can't stay away forever!" he cried out. As always, he tried to keep his friend out of any trouble. The problem was that Riku seemed to _like_ trouble. He couldn't care less what his friend thought about his bad habits, and it was driving Sora crazy sometimes how Riku could be so indifferent about things. His friend sighed.

"Give it up, Sora, I'm not going. Trust me, no one will even notice by now. Besides," Riku added in a softer, and also a somewhat sadder voice, "who would miss me?" It was silent for a few moments. When Sora spoke, they could both hear that his voice was trembling heavily, as if he was trying desperately to hold back a waterfall of tears.

"I would. I would miss you. I already do!" he whispered. Then, he grabbed his bag, and ran away. Riku groaned. He knew he was a total asshole, but he wasn't _trying_ to be one. Sometimes, he just said things without thinking. He loved Sora. As a friend, mind you, but he loved him nonetheless. He hated it when he hurt him. And that happened far too often to Riku's liking. He sighed, and stood up. The next thing he could remember was that his back hit the tree trunk quite hard, and that he slid down to the ground. He touched his stomach carefully. It hurt a lot. His back hurt too, thanks to its meeting with the oak. Riku felt like he could hardly breathe. He looked up, and regretted that immediately, because all he could see was the fist that was aiming for his head. The blow made his head slam against the trunk, and he could taste his own blood before it passed his lips and ran down his chin, only to drip down on his shirt. His favorite white shirt, too.

"Serves you right, you little piece of crap!" growled the tall redhead that was standing in front of Riku. Now, Riku didn't get scared easily, but the expression on Axel's face was positively murderous. Needless to say that Riku was more than a little glad when one of the teachers, who'd seen it all happen, ran over to keep Axel from beating Riku up more. As the taller boy was taken to the principal's office, Riku assured everyone around him that he was just fine. He went to the boys' restroom, ignoring the shocked whispers of the other students.

Once inside the restroom, Riku dabbed his mouth with a wet cloth. When he looked at it, the white material had turned red. While mumbling something that would make a nun faint, he filled his mouth with water that was coming from the tap. When he spit it out, it was red. Blood. Damn that Axel! Everything hurt. His front, his back, his sides, everything. Riku had been _so_ wrong. Axel wasn't a coward, he had just waited for the right moment to take revenge. Now all Riku could think about was how he was going to punish Axel. He wanted war? Well, he got it. His fantasy got a bit overheated, so the images of a tortured Axel got more and more cruel with each passing second. Just when Riku's anger reached the boiling-point, someone came in. It was a boy with spiky brown hair and a somewhat shy look on his face.

"Hey," Sora mumbled, and he closed the door. Riku said nothing. He sent Sora a glare that said something like: if my eyes could shoot fire, you'd be charred by now. He was not in the mood for company.

"I… uh… I heard what happened, so… I…" Sora fell silent. He bit his lip. He knew very well that Riku wasn't in a friendly mood, but Sora was just way too kind to leave his friend alone. He took a step or two towards Riku. Cautious, ever so cautious, his eyes fixed on Riku's, looking for something that would tell him not to get any closer. He didn't find anything like that, and he ended up standing next to Riku.

"How do you feel?" Sora asked carefully. Riku tried his hardest not to take his anger out on Sora, but he almost lost it. He growled.

"Look at me. How do you _think_ I'm feeling?" he said, gnashing his teeth. He took another mouthful of water, and spit it out again. Sora eyes grew big when he saw the mixture of water, saliva, and, most of all, blood.

"_Shit!_" he whispered. "He didn't exactly go easy on you, did he?"

"Nope," came the short reply. Sora was just about to say something, when the door swung open. One of the school's janitors was standing in front of the two teenagers.

"You, come with me," the man said firmly while pointing at Riku. A cautious look appeared in the boy's blue eyes.

"Why?" he asked.

"The principal will tell you. Now, no dawdling, I've other work to do as well." the man said with a tone that left no room for arguing. Riku mentally sighed.

"Call me later, 'kay?" Sora whispered. But Riku didn't answer. He just walked past his friend, out of the room.

Riku wasn't that surprised to find Axel in the principal's office as well. The fury in his eyes was gone, and replaced with sadness. Those same eyes were fixed on the ground, and they didn't move when Riku came in. Riku took a seat. Then there was a very awkward silence. They boys tried not to look at each other, but it was like their eyes got pulled towards each other. Luckily, the principal came in. He was a creepy guy, both in looks and in attitude. His eyes were the color of amber, and he had this habit of smirking evilly, like he was planning to do something horrible to you. He sat down in the chair behind the desk, and looked at the two teens on the other side of the desk. He frowned.

"Do you have any idea what this is about?" the man asked. His voice was low, slow, and demanding. Neither Axel nor Riku responded.

"I'll take that as a 'no', then." Mr. Xemnas (which was the man's name) said. He waited a few moments, and then he spoke again.

"Yesterday, Mr. Even and I had a talk about the incident in his Physics class," Mr. Xemnas said. Axel was still staring at the floor. "And now it seems that Mr. Axel Hamish caused that… well, let's call it a fight, earlier." Now, Mr. Xemnas was looking at Riku, but he, too, didn't respond. Mr. Xemnas continued.

"The both of you will have detention for two weeks. I hope you'll be able to get along by then. Also, after those two weeks have ended, you both go to Mr. Even to apologize."

That got the boys' attention. They looked at the man like he'd lost his mind.

"_What?_ " Riku eventually cried. Mr. Xemnas only smiled.

"I hope that by doing this, you can eventually look each other in the eyes, say sorry, shake hands, and walk away with no hard feelings. If the two of you put in a little effort, this story could have a very happy end."

Both Axel and Riku doubted that. Mr. Xemnas just smirked.

"Well," Mr. Xemnas said almost cheerful, "that was all. You detention will start today. Dismissed!" And before they knew it, Axel and Riku were out of the office.

}:{

That afternoon, they were in the detention classroom, all by themselves. About ten minutes passed, but they said nothing. They just sat there, trying not to look at each other. When another ten minutes had passed, however, Axel took the initiative. He walked towards Riku, and held out his hand. Riku looked at the red-head with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Hi," Axel said, "I'm Axel Hamish." Riku looked a bit confused. Axel saw it, and sighed.

"Look, if I'm going to be here with you for the next two weeks, I don't want to do so in complete silence. That'll just get on my nerves. So if we have to keep the peace between us from now on, we'd better start. And the first step would be to introduce ourselves. So, I'm Axel Hamish."

"Makes sense." Riku mumbled. Then he sighed, and shook Axel's hand. It was short, but they shook hands nonetheless.

"Riku Byron." Riku said short. They fell silent again.

"So…" Axel said. "You're not really the talkative type, are you?"

"…"

"Okaaaay… I guess that means 'no'." Axel mentally sighed in frustration. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He decided to just ask some things. See if he could get a reaction out of Riku.

"Eh… is Sora your best friend? You two seem to be pretty close." Riku immediately turned around in anger.

"You leave Sora out of this, you got that?" Even Riku himself was surprised by this emotional outburst. Axel grinned.

"Heh-heh. Never thought you'd be into guys, Riku." Wrong! Bad move! Axel almost slapped himself. Idiot! He was trying to be nice, so that this whole stupid detention would be easier, but if he kept this up, that wasn't going to work.

Riku was as red as a beetroot. Liking boys? No way! Not him! Liking Sora? Sure, Sora was cute and all, but… wait! That's not what he meant to think! Sure, Sora _was_ cute, no denying that, but not in _that_ way! He was just Riku's best friend, that's all! Still blushing, Riku decided to change the topic.

"Never thought you'd be so violent. What are you? A kickboxer or something?' Riku would never forget the look on Axel's face when he said that. It was a look full of terror, and sorrow, and pain, and anger, and a lot more things Riku didn't even know. Axel started to shake beyond control. Riku saw that Axel's green eyes were filled with tears. He had no idea what was happening.

"Hey… Axel… what's wrong?" he asked carefully. That's when Axel suddenly stood up.

"Let me show you where I learned violence," he said. His voice cracked, and it was hoarse. Then, he grabbed his t-shirt, and took it off, so that Riku saw his naked upper body. Riku felt his knees getting weak. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Because what he saw, was the most horrible thing he had ever seen in his life.

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><p><strong>I made Saïx, Marluxia and Larxene siblings. And I like it xD<strong>

**I hope you enjoyed it. I'm glad I started over with this story, 'cause I really liked the idea behind it all, and I think this second version is turning out to be much better than the original xD**

**Reviews make my day, flames just warm my hands.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone, and please welcome chapter 2 of Your Love Is Just A Lie :D First of all, I'd like to thank you for the kind reviews and for the Alerts, they really made my day. Second, I'd like to thank my new and awesome beta: **_Sinful-Metaphor_**. Thank you so much for your hard work! *hug***

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.  
><strong>Rated for violence and lemon in later chapters<strong>**

**And last but not least: enjoy this chapter :D**

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><p>The scar was barely noticeable because the bruises covered so much of it. The thin line started at Axel's lower right side and ended in the middle of his left side. The bruises, some of them old but most of them fresh, covered Axel's torso, his shoulders and his arms. Riku's mouth hung wide open in shock. It took him some time to realize that he was downright gaping at Axel, and he looked away, not knowing what to do. That's when he heard a soft sob. Before he knew it, Axel was sitting on the floor, bursting into tears. He looked like he was drowning in pure misery and Riku just stood there, only a few meters away, frozen. He didn't know what to do.<p>

When the crying finally started to fade, Riku slowly walked over to the other boy and, after a short moment of hesitation, he sat down next to him. Axel looked at him and slowly moved his head closer to Riku's, ready to back away at any time. It got on Riku's nerves to have Axel's head so close to his**,** but he didn't move. Then, Axel turned his head a little and laid it on Riku's shoulder.

Although he was very uncomfortable with this situation, there was one part of Riku that wanted to take away the other's sorrow and pain. A part of him wanted to shelter the other boy, to protect him and to comfort him. And it was this part of Riku that made him lay his arm around Axel and pull him closer. This made Axel cry again, and just as always, Riku didn't care.

}:{

"So, what are you going to do now?" Sora's voice asked. Riku shrugged, not thinking about the fact that Sora couldn't see that through the phone. It was almost eleven o'clock in the evening and Riku should really start thinking about going to bed. Still, he had to get this out of his system. Thank heavens that Sora was such a good listener.

"Dunno. I've never seen anything like that before. What do _you_ think?" he asked.

"Are you sure he didn't tell you who did it?"

"He said nothing, I told you that. He cried and, once he stopped, I couldn't even breathe without him starting all over again. It was really…" Riku searched for words to describe what he'd felt, but nothing came to mind. A sudden knock on the door almost made him drop the phone. His mother yelled.

"Riku! Bedtime!" The boy mumbled something nasty when his mother walked past his bedroom door**,** and brought the phone back up to his ear.

"Sorry, the witch is bothering me. Again." He sighed. Sora chuckled. He'd never met Riku's family**,** but he'd heard plenty of stories about what they were like.

When they both got serious again, Riku continued his story like his mother had never interrupted.

"Anyway, like I was saying, it was really weird to see Axel like that…" he told his friend.

"I can imagine. What did you do when… you know… 'time was up'?" Sora asked in an almost cautious manner. Riku thought about it and couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of the answer.

"Eh… I left," he said. There was a short silence.

"You left?" Sora softly asked in a mixture of disbelief and… was that disappointment?

"Yeah…" Riku answered, suddenly not feeling like having this conversation anymore.

"You _left_?"

"What about it?"

"What happened to Axel?"

"Dunno."

"You don't _know_? You just left him there like… like _that_?" Sora suddenly yelled. He was positively angry now**.**

Riku cringed.

"Yeah. I packed my stuff and went home. Mom lectured me, sent me to my roomand locked the door. What Axel did when I was gone, I don't know." There was a silence again. A long one.

Riku heard Sora sigh. It was a very long, very tired and very sad sigh…

"G'night, Riku." There was a clickand then nothing. Riku swore and threw the phone against the wall.

}:{

The following days were crap, in Riku's opinion anyway. Sora didn't talk to him the day after their call, and then he got sick and stayed at home 'till Tuesday. Their call had been on Wednesday.

Axel never mentioned what had happened, although Riku made an attempt or two to talk about it. The redhead said it was none of his business and that was that. They talked a lot about other things, though. They talked about their hobbies, their likes and dislikes, their future plans (they were done talking about that very quickly, since neither one of them had any) and some other things. But they never mentioned their families.

On Saturday, Riku went over to Sora's place to try and make peace with him. When Sora opened the door, he was all smiles and kindness; one would never have thought the two were fighting. Riku could somehow tell, though, that both Sora's smiles and actions were fake.

Upstairs, in Sora's room playing games on the Xbox, Riku had had enough. He paused the game, laid down his controllerand turned around to look at his friend. Sora wasn't looking back at him and his smile had vanished. He looked sad.

"How much longer are going to pretend nothing's wrong?" Riku asked. Sora shrugged.

"Are you still mad at me?" another shrug.

"I tried to talk with him this week, but he's done talking about it." Sora had no reaction this time.

"Just know that I tried, okay?" Still no reaction. Sighing, Riku picked up the controller and resumed the game. Two seconds later, it was Sora who paused it. He simply dropped the controller, reached over and pulled Riku close in a big hug

"You're a jackass, Riku" he said. He tried to keep the smile out of his voice**,** but didn't quite succeed. A bit surprised by the sudden affection, Riku hesitantly hugged the shorter boy back, not really knowing what to saybut wordlessly agreeing with his friend. "You're a big fucking jackass," Sora whispered. Riku nodded.

When Sora pulled away, he had a serene look on his face and Riku couldn't help but smile back.

"Would you promise me something?" Sora asked. Riku nodded again.

"Apologize."

Riku frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When you see Axel again, apologize for leaving him like that. Can you do that for me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Sora beamed.

}:{

Monday afternoon, detention. Riku and Axel hadn't said a single word since they came in, and they had yet another two hours to go. Axel sighed, looking at Riku who was sitting next to him against the wall. Surprisingly, they had become friends these last couple of days. Sort of.

Riku was thinking about his promise to Sora. Would Axel get mad if he brought up that day? He might. Still, a promise was a promise.

"Sorry I just left you alone the other day," he said, not looking at Axel but at his own feet instead. Axel frowned as he looked over.

"What day are we talking?" he asked.

"When you showed me the bruises…"

"Ah." Axel didn't say anything for a minute, "Well, don't worry about it. I guess my reaction was a bit too much anyway. So I'm not exactly blaming you or anything for wanting to get the hell away from me."

He'd said so lightheartedly, though he probably didn't mean half of it. Or so Riku thought.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but," he said "… who did it?"

A grim expression appeared on Axel's face. Riku was already thinking he wouldn't respond when he actually did.

"My father. And my brothers." Axel said.

Riku looked at him. Was this for real?

"Your _father_ and your _brothers_ beat you up like this?" Riku said. Axel just nodded.

"But… but why?" Riku asked. Axel looked away and said nothing. "_Is_ there a reason?"

"…"

"Axel?"

"There is a reason." Axel took a deep breath, "They beat me up to punish me. They beat me up, because I killed my ten-year-old brother."

Riku was dead certain he hadn't heard that right. There was no way Axel… geez, the guy was just too _nice_ to kill a person! And then, killing his own _brother_… a ten-year-old kid… no, Axel could never do that! However, when Riku saw the tears in Axel's green eyes, the blood in his veins almost froze. The room temperature seemed to drop several degrees making Riku shiver…

"Axel…" he said in a squeaking voice. He quickly cleared his throat and tried again.

"Axel… please… that's… that's not true!" he shouted. Standing up, he started walking back and forth, all the while thinking 'No way… no fucking way!' "You wouldn't do such a thing, you're not like that," Riku heard himself say.

"Riku…" he suddenly heard.

Looking back at Axel, Riku's breath was caught in his throat with the despair he found in his emerald eyes. That's when all the doubt left vanished completely. This young man wasn't an evil murderer. This was someone who was screaming and begging for help and forgiveness…

Before he knew it, Riku was on his knees in front of the redhead, hugging him, holding him close and trying to tell him that it was okay, although he couldn't speak by the amount of tears in his own eyes. And Axel just cried.

}:{

They left the school together, walking side by side in a comfortable silence. They ended up at the beach, though Riku would never remember how they got there. The sound of the ocean was all that could be heard. The beach was empty, except for the two teenage boys sitting by the sea. Their eyes, the one's being emerald green, the other's being sea-green, were still a bit red from their crying. Every now and then they looked at each other. Every time they did that, they would smile. There was little space between their bodies but that was only comfortable. The setting sun colored burning red, orange and yellow, the water, the sky and everything around them. It was beautiful. This sort of peace reminded Riku of Sora and how they used to go to the beach in the summer evenings just to watch the sun set.

"Say, Riku…" the redhead then whispered. Riku could barely hear him over the sound of the waves.

"Yeah?" he answered. But there was only silence. For a little while…

"Thank you."

"… for what?"

"… just… just thank you…"

"…hey, Axel…"

"Yeah?"

"You're welcome." And they smiled at each other once again.

* * *

><p><strong>Seriously, Sora and Riku are meant to be together. However (after reading my beta's comments, I refuse to use "and" or "but" here), although I honestly am a loyal fangirl, I still think it's fun to mix up the traditional pairings a bit xD<strong>

**Thank you all very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **

**Reviews make my day, flames just warm my hands. So please make my day and be so kind to press the pretty review button :3****  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey people, how've you all been? It's been a while since the last update (two months... oops T.T), and the reason for that is that college is, in fact, a bitch. So are my exams and my retakes. I have another retake next Thursday, and I have trouble concentrating lately. Not good.**

**Anyway, I didn't want to keep this from you any longer. My beta, Sinful-Metaphor, is busy at the moment and because of that, this chapter has not yet been checked for mistakes yet. I'll upload the final version of this chapter when it's done, but I really felt like I needed to upload this. My apologies to Sinful-Metaphor. And to all of you, who had to wait for so long.**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot and that's it.  
><strong><strong>Rated for violence and lemon in later chapters<strong>**.**

**Edit: Sinful-Metaphor has betad the chapter, and proven that betas really are worth their weight in gold xD Thank you so much!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>When Riku entered the detention room the next day, Axel wasn't there yet. That disappointed him a little, since the redhead usually arrived first and Riku hadn't seen him all day; they only shared Physics on Tuesday and that class had been cancelled. Besides, Riku really wanted to see Axel, although he didn't really know why…<p>

Riku dropped his bag in a corner and sat down next to it. He closed his eyes, listening to the soft ticking of the clock. With silence all around him, he could think. He hadn't managed to get his earlier conversation with the redhead out of his head yet, the one about the other boy being a murderer. He wanted to know what had happened, he wanted to know the whole story, and Axel was the only one who could tell him. Riku didn't want to force him, however. Axel had to tell him about it when he was ready, but how much longer would that take?

The guy broke down easily enough as it was. Riku surely didn't want to make it worse.

It was so warm and quiet in the room, and Riku eventually fell asleep. When he woke up, it was almost time to go home, and Axel still wasn't there. The teen started to wonder if his friend had ever made it to school that day. Maybe he had a fever or something and hadn't left the house at all…

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Riku made a decision. He stood up, grabbed his bag, and left.

}:{

It took him some time to find the address, but now Riku was finally standing in front of Axel's house.

It was a large house, with large windows to go with it. It was quiet, as if no one was home, and Riku hesitated. Axel had to be home. Where else could he be, seeing as he hadn't come to school? What also made Riku slightly nervous was the possibility that not his redheaded friend, but the boy's mother would open the door. What would he say then? On the other hand, it wasn't forbidden to visit a friend, right?

Riku took a deep breath, and walked to the door. After another deep breath, he rang the doorbell. Nothing happened. He tried it again. There came no response.

"Axel?" Riku cried. Still nothing. So, did this mean he really wasn't home?

"Axel? Are you there?" There was nothing to be heard. The house was quiet.

A little dazed, the silverhead walked away. To his surprise, though, he had only taken a few steps when the door finally opened. Riku turned around instantly, and gasped.

"Stop looking at me like that! Come in!" Axel hissed. Riku quickly did as he was told, so his friend could close the door. His movements were rushed, agitated…

When Axel turned around, he saw that Riku was staring at him. He sighed.

"My old man was drunk, and I was being the rebellious teenage son who refused to do as he was told. That's what happened," he said, curtly. Riku slowly nodded, still looking at Axel's face. It was beaten black and blue. No wonder he hadn't showed up at school.

"Riku!" Riku jumped at the somewhat irritated tone in the other's voice.

"What?"

"Stop staring!" Riku blushed a little, quickly looking away.

"Sorry. Ehm…" He didn't know what to say next. Seeing how agitated Axel was, he wondered if stopping by was ever a good idea at all.

"Look, if you don't want me to be here, that's fine, really. If you want me to go…" he started.

"No!" Axel suddenly shouted, confusing Riku even more, "Please… stay." he added.

His voice was trembling beyond control, reduced to little more than a whisper. He looked up, his bright green eyes looking straight into Riku's.

"Riku, I'm going crazy in here! I can't go outside! If anyone sees me like this, I'm in big trouble." A pause. "I don't want to be alone… My parents and brothers are all at work now. So no one would know if you stayed here for a while! So, could you please stay?"

Unnerved by the desperate plea, Riku nodded. He could see it made Axel happy. Very happy.

"Thanks," the other boy said. He then turned around, seemingly hesitating "Eh… would you like to come upstairs? I don't like it down here. I feel much safer in my own room." The shy smile that came with those words made Riku smile too. He dropped his bag and followed Axel to what appeared to be his room.

Axel's room was small, and painted white. It looked like the redhead had decorated the walls by writing on them with markers in different colors. One wall was still empty though. Riku noticed how cleaned up the room was, as well. Not that he was such a grub, but it never looked this tidy.

"Nice room you have," the silver haired teen said, casually. Axel chuckled.

"Glad to hear that," he said.

He walked to the bed and sat down. Riku joined him.

Silence. Now that he was actually there, with his friend next to him, Riku didn't really know what to say. He hadn't really thought this through, since he figured that seeing if the redhead was even home would be enough for the time being. He hadn't thought beyond that; he hadn't thought of what he wanted to talk about. Well, of course he wanted wanted to know more about Axel's brother, but he had already decided that that was a no-go topic until Axel decided otherwise.

"So…" Axel said then, "I guess you want to hear it. About my brother." Riku froze. Had the guy just read his mind or something? He would never expect Axel to be ready so soon…

"Well… yeah, but…" he stuttered, eventually, "… but if you don't want to talk…"

"Riku!" Axel interrupted him. Riku fell silent. The tone of Axel's voice… there was no arguing with it.

"I _want_ to tell you. You are my friend, Riku, you have the _right_ to know!"

Now, Riku certainly didn't agree with that, but his friend just kept talking.

"I've kept this to myself for three years, and it's eating me up! I never had someone to talk to. My family has always blamed me, and I've never had any friends. I _was_ _alone_! It's not just that I want you to know, Riku… it's also that I want to get this… this _weight_ off of me!"

Axel got up, frustrated, and walked over to his closet. Hesitating for a moment, he then opened it and looked at something inside. His shoulders slumped.

Riku waited, but his friend didn't move.

"It's okay," he then said, "You can tell me. I'll listen."

Axel slowly turned around, a single tear falling from his eye.

"I can't even say his name," he whispered. "I fear that his _name_ alone is enough to break me."

He then took something from the closet, closed it, and walked back over to the bed to sit down next to Riku. He was holding a picture frame and held it out for Riku to see it.

It was a nice photo, taken on a bright summer's day if the pool in the background and the sunlight were anything to go by. The photo showed two boys, both with bright red hair and pearly white teeth that they showed by smiling dazzlingly at the camera. They were sitting on a wooden bench, wearing shorts and t-shirts. The older of the two, whose hair was spikier, had his arm lovingly around his brother's shoulders. The younger boy, who wore his hair in a ponytail, leaned against the older boy, with his arm around the other's waist. It really was a beautiful photo. Riku told his friend that.

"It looks nice… very peaceful and happy," he said, "You look alike." he added.

Axel gave him a shaky smile. "We did," he whispered.

Then he swallowed and looked at the picture again.

"His name…" he said, "His name was… Reno."

Riku looked up, only to see how hard his friend tried to keep from crying.

"I won't say his name if you don't want me to," he said, receiving a grateful look. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked. A nod and another smile were his answer. Axel started telling his story.

"My brother was three years younger than me. We were very close, we did everything together. We told each other everything, no matter what it was. If he'd hurt himself, he'd come to me to take care of him. We…" Axel closed his eyes, swallowed, tried again, couldn't get a word out. Riku tried to lay his arm around him, but the other wouldn't let him.

"I'm fine!" he shouted. Riku pulled back.

After a few seconds, Axel continued.

"It was summer. My brother had never been very good at swimming(,)so we went to the river him to practice. We only swam in the shallow part of the river, but my brother was doing very well(,) so I encouraged him to go to deeper water. At first, he didn't want to(,) but I kept pushing him. Eventually, he gave in. I began to swim to the other side then and my brother followed…" Axel's voice faded. His eyes were filled with tears, looking at something Riku couldn't see.

"What happened then?" Riku asked. Axel looked at him.

"We were halfway when my brother said he was tired and wanted to go back. He was afraid of the deep water ahead of us, but I told him there was nothing to be afraid of because I was with him. It would be okay. So we continued our way across the river… He then said he was getting muscle cramps and that he really couldn't swim any further. Still, I didn't want to go back. I said that the cramps would vanish if he just kept swimming. Besides, there was no point in going back, since we had already swum the best part. So we swam. My brother was really tired, but I thought he could make it. I thought that if he _really_ couldn't go any further, I could help him. But one moment, when I turned around to see how he was doing…" Axel's voice cracked. He tried to finish the story, but he couldn't make a sound.

"He was gone?" Riku asked. Axel nodded, taking in a few shuddering breaths.

"I… I tried to find him. I really did. But he was just.. gone." Axel took another deep breath, paused for a few seconds, went on. "They found him the next morning. He was so cold… and pale, and… and…" Now he really broke down. Riku laid his arms around him, trying to calm him down, though Axel barely minded that now…

"Axel," he said, "what you did was stupid, but you didn't kill him. You pushed him too much, but you meant well. Come on, it's okay…" Axel only cried more, shaking his head.

"No! It's my fault, Riku! It's all my fault!" he cried, repeating it over and over until Riku had enough. He grabbed Axel's bony shoulders, and looked into his eyes, _willing _his friend to stop and listen. Axel calmed down immediately. For a brief moment there, Riku thought he looked absolutely adorable.

Pushing that thought to the very back of his mind, he focused on the moment.

"Axel," he whispered, "you didn't kill him." The redhead didn't believe him. His look was wistful, and his face was wet with tears.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. You don't mean a word of it. You hate me. I'm a murderer, you know it, and you hate me." Axel said, clearly crossing the line.

Riku grabbed his shoulders even tighter.

"Axel, when are you going to understand? What do I have to do to make you see it? What do I have to do to make you believe me? WHAT?" he yelled. Something in Axel's eyes changed, and it happened so fast that Riku would've missed it if he hadn't been looking into the other's eyes so intently. He could barely hear the redhead when he spoke.

"Kiss me." Axel whispered. It took Riku a minute to understand. He then pushed Axel on his back, hard, and practically threw himself at the redhead, making their lips join in a hard, crazy, and absolutely addicting liplock.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I apologize for any mistakes and hope that this chapter was enjoyable.<br>**

****Thank you all very much for reading.****

******Reviews make my day, flames just warm my hands.** Until next time :3****

****- A.  
><strong>**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey all :) I'd like to thank my wonderful beta Singful-Metaphor for doing a wonderful job on this! Now, without further ado, chapter 4 ^.^  
><strong>

****Disclaimer: I own the plot and that's it.  
><strong><strong>Rated for violence and lemon in later chapters<strong>**.****

* * *

><p>Axel didn't know what to think of it. He didn't expect Riku to kiss him for <em>real<em> when he told him to! Not at all! He expected him to freak out, yell at him, leave and never come back. Instead, Riku had taken the challenge. He was almost devouring Axel's mouth now.

The redhead wasn't very experienced at kissing, but he could still tell Riku was a pro.

Riku's mind was one big blur. All he could think of clearly were Axel's soft lips, his tongue inside the other boy's mouth, and their hands on each other's body…

Riku had kissed people before. Always girls. Not that he was a heartbreaking player, but his relationships only lasted for a month. At the very most, that is. It was during one of those relationships that he had lost his virginity. So he knew 'stuff', and quickly realized that making out with a guy wasn't anything like making out with a girl. The girls Riku had kissed so far had always let him do as he pleased. They'd been "there", but not very active. Sure, Axel wasn't aggressive, but he still wasn't nearly as passive as Riku's ex-girlfriends.

When the redhead disconnected his lips from Riku's, his body was desperate for oxygen. Still, his mind wouldn't stop screaming for the other's name, and his senses were no different. Riku, on the other hand, seemed very unwilling to keep their mouths apart, like oxygen was hardly important, compared to his sexual need. Restless, cupped Axel's head in his hands and started kissing him again, this time with much more passion and hunger, much more demanding than before.

Axel moaned out loud…

Hearing his sounds, Riku he let his hands slide underneath Axel's black shirt, feeling both of their bodies tense up at the touch. The redhead grabbed Riku's hips and almost pounded his own against them, making both of them cry out. Riku felt himself go limp in the other's arms. Oh yes, this was very different from fooling around with a girl!

The silver-haired could feel their erect members brush against each other and cursed the fabric in between. He didn't think he had ever been this hard in his entire life! The hunger for Axel was almost too much for him to handle - he had already given up on breathing long ago.

Deciding to take things one step further, Riku broke the kiss to remove his shirt. Axel did the same. He wasn't even done yet when Riku's hands reached out for him again. This time, those hands went straight to his zipper. Axel's heart skipped a beat. Only then and there did he realize how serious it all was.

Judging from the look on his partner's face, had gone a bit too far to stop now. Not that Axel wanted him to stop; he was just a bit nervous.

Riku looked into his bright green eyes, almost as if he could sense his uncertainty.

"If you don't want this…" he whispered. Axel shook his head, violently.

"I want this… Do it." No reaction.

Axel felt like moaning out of frustration. He was so turned on right now, why were they even talking in the first place? That would get them nowhere…

"Riku, please!" he cried out, fed up with waiting. Riku still hesitated.

"Okay, but if you change your mind…"

"I won't!"

"I don't want to hurt you, Axel."

"You can't hurt me…!"

"But…"

"Goddammit, Riku! Do you want me or not? JUST FUCK ME ALREADY!" he blurted, exasperated "I WANT YOU! NOW, FUCK ME!"

That was the last straw. Riku felt like he could _die_ if he didn't take this gorgeous, hot boy underneath him. He quickly opened Axel's pants, as Axel tried to open his. Revealing to be a bit clumsy though, the redhead mentally cursed his own virginity. Here he was, with the absolutely hottest boy on the goddamn _planet_, and he had _no_ idea what he had to do! He was _such_ a virgin!

Riku let him mess around a little bit. It only turned him on even more. Axel would occasionally touch him, causing him to moan out loud, leaving poor Axel breathless. Finally, the redhead lowered Riku's pants and tightened his hand around the other boy's rock hard cock. Riku gasped, closing his eyes. With each stroke and jerk, he noticed just how close he was to an earth-shaking orgasm.

Wanting to return the favor, he slipped his own hand into Axel's boxer shorts, and began to stroke him. Axel instantly shut his eyes, starting to twist and turn on the bed. He could barely breathe by the mind-blowing sensation, and the best thing was yet to come!

The redhead had never had an orgasm before, and he couldn't even imagine how awesome it would feel. Masturbation had always been such a taboo for him, since he was scared of what his father might do to him if he ever found out. These new sensations were playing hell on his senses…

The boy couldn't lie still and his hand on Riku wouldn't stop shaking. The stroking movements made Riku nearly explode. The boys were moving uncontrollably now. When Axel came all over Riku's hand, he couldn't silence the screams, sending the silver-haired over the edge as well.

When Riku was able to think clearly again, he found himself lying on top of Axel, both of them breathing heavily. _Shit, too soon_, he thought, slowly raising his head and looking right into Axel's bright green eyes. They smiled.

"You didn't fuck me after all." Axel whispered, lazily and still a little out of breath.

"Is that so bad?" Riku asked. Axel's smile widened.

"No," he answered "this was perfect…" Riku blushed a little. In the end, it didn't matter how experienced with sex he was compared to the redhead. This had been his very first time with a guy, after all. He could only be relieved it went on so well.

"Heheh, thanks. It was your first time, right?" Now _Axel _was the one blushing. So he'd noticed.

"Ehm… yeah, I can't really deny that." They laughed.

Axel laid his hand behind Riku's neck and pulled him closer. The kiss was deep, long, lazy, passionate, hot… and true. Real, if that made any sense. They kept kissing for minutes, never coming up to take a breath. Then, out of the blue, Riku suddenly broke the kiss and listened. His eyes widened in shock.

Then Axel heard it too…

A key in the front door lock. The door opened. Axel looked at the clock.

"Shit!" he hissed. "That's my mom!"

"What?" Riku nearly panicked. Of all times, why now?

"Quick! Get dressed!" Axel whispered. They put their clothes back on as fast and silent as they could.

"Axel!" the woman yelled. "Come down here! I need you to make dinner!"

"She hasn't noticed my bag," Riku said, sighing in relief. He figured Axel's parents didn't want any strange visitors in the house.

The redhead opened the door and carefully sneaked downstairs with Riku following him. Axel looked around until he'd located his mom in the living room, then turned around to face his friend (really? Friend? Could he still call him that?).

"Listen, I'll distract her while you get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow at school" he whispered, looking over his shoulder.

Riku nodded. The redhead turned around again, only to be pushed against the nearest wall two seconds later, with Riku furiously sucking his lips. They stopped kissing when a voice came out of the living room.

"Axel! Are you coming downstairs or what?"

"Go," Axel whispered. Riku nodded. He was panting - they both were. When Axel went inside the living room, Riku waited until he heard voices to finally grab his bag and leave the house.

}:{

Riku didn't really know what he was feeling at the moment, though he had decided he quite liked the fluttery sensations in his stomach. Walking home with an idiot-like grin on his lips, he wouldn't even care with what people might think of him.

He was still smiling when he opened the door…

"I'm home!" he shouted, way too cheerful to go unnoticed on a normal day.

There was nothing normal about today, though.

Once inside the house, a rather anxious tone of voice, asphyxiating even, rose from the kitchen.

Instead of the usual shouting, there was only a sense of uncertainty and distress left.

"Riku? Is that you…? Come here, please…" called Riku's mom.

Suddenly, he didn't feel nearly as cheerful as only a minute before. Virtually froze already, he walked into the kitchen. There, he found his mother standing before another woman. Her hair was colored silver and her eyes had the metallic hue of aquamarines. She was tall for a woman; not as tall as Riku, but it was a close call. Apparently, she was still young, probably around her mid-thirties. She was clearly nervous. Her hands were shaking, as well as her lips, which she tried to mold into a convincing smile. She failed…

"H- Hi, Riku," she finally voiced, shakily. Then, she said something that would flip Riku's world upside down forever:

"I… I'm your mother… honey."

}:{

The moment Riku could think clearly again, he found himself in his room, lying on his bed, with his door locked, and crying like a baby. There was a whirlwind of emotions going on in his head. His _mother_? His _biological_ mother? That… that… that _bitch_ that had left him in a fuckin' _orphanage_? No way! Why was she here, why now? Why now that he was truly happy, _why_?

Riku grabbed his bag and looked for his cell phone. Dialing a number on, his trembling fingers almost dropped the phone. He waited. Five seconds. Ten seconds…

"C'mon! Pick up!" he cried. Twenty seconds. Finally, he heard a voice.

"Hey there!"

"Sora, it's me."

"Whoah, what's up? You sound like you're panicking!" There was alarm in Sora's voice.

"That's _because_ I'm panicking!" _Riku hissed._

"But what…?"

"My mom! It's my mother!"

"What about her?"

"You don't get it, Sora! I mean my _mother_!" Sora said nothing; he couldn't understand. Riku forced back a sob and tried again, "As in, my _real_ mother, you stupid!" That got his friend's attention.

"Your real… HOLY FUCK!" Sora shouted. He finally got it. "Your MOTHER! Oh God, Riku! Are you okay? What happened?"

"When I got home, she and my mom… no, wait, _she_ is my mom, but that makes my other mom… ARGH!" Frustration and distress were getting the better of him. He was honestly trying to calm down, but there was so much going on in his head that he just didn't know what to do anymore.

"Okay, slow down, buddy. Let's call your mother 'mother' and your not-mother 'mom'." was Sora's suggestion, "So, you came home, and then what?" he said, as calmly as possible. Judging by the way his voice sounded an octave higher than usual, it was just an act, but Riku could still appreciate the effort.

The silver-haired teen laid down on his back, looking up at the ceiling and wondering where to start, wondering what he had done to deserve such a friend…

"Yeah, so… so when I came home, mom was in the kitchen and told me to come to her, and I did, and then I saw another woman, who looks like me, although I actually look like _her_, since she is my _mother_…"

"Slow down, Riku, you're rambling," Sora warned. Riku barely heard him.

"… and then she, my _mother_ that is, said: "I'm your mother, honey", and she called me HONEY, Sora! HONEY!" when his voice cracked, Sora could only curse the fact he couldn't reach out for his friend.

"I hear you, loud and clear. So what did you do then? Did you talk to her? Is she still there?" Riku needed a moment or two to remember, and Sora just waited.

"I… I freaked out. I… I ran back to the hallway, grabbed my bag and ran upstairs. I locked the door and… and…" Riku started sobbing again. "…and I cr—cr-cried!" He could feel his tears covering his face now, but he wouldn't even care. Sora didn't care either. He simply told Riku that everything would be okay…

Riku wasn't even sure why he was crying in the first place. Shock, probably. This was the woman who had resented him so much that she had left him in an _orphanage_, seemingly without a second thought. She _hated_ him! It had never been a big deal to Riku before - or so he thought - and look at him now!

"Do you want me to come over? I can be there in ten minutes, Riku. Just say the word and…"

"No." The answer was short, definitive, though not unfriendly. "Thanks Sora, but… I'm alright. I just… I just need some time, I think…"

"Yeah, sure…" They both knew Sora got hurt with such an answer, even if only a little.

Riku thanked his friend, unable to deal with both his own and his friend's pain, and hung up.

}:{

Hours later, Riku heard a knock on his door. _No, please go away, please_. Another knock.

"Go away!" he shouted, hating the way his voice cracked.

"Riku? Please let me in. Riku?" It was his "not-mother". She was crying.

Why was this happening? He had been so happy only a few hours ago, why…?

Something strange happened, afterwards. Riku couldn't remember opening the door, though his mother, or not-mother, did come in anyway. She sat on his bed, holding her arms carefully around him as if he was a little child. Which, in a way, he probably was. At least he sure felt like one… His silvered head was placed on her lap as he cried, and cried, and cried. His mother wouldn't make a sound, though she cried just as painfully. Now and again, she would assure him the other woman was gone.

Riku knew that was their very first real mother and son moment…

"I swear I had _no_ idea she would come here, Riku. I _swear_."

Riku nodded. "I know," he whispered. He really did.

"She just… stood right in front of me all of a sudden, telling me who she was." she was sobbing. "N-not that she n-n-needed to tell me. It's o-o-obvious that she is your… your…" she couldn't finish. Riku sat up and hugged her.

"_You_ are my mother," he whispered. "She threw me away. Mothers don't do that, mothers… _mothers love their children, don't they?_"

He felt very angry all of a sudden, wiping the tears from his eyes. Yet, something was bugging him…

He hugged the woman a little closer.

"She… she didn't come to… take me away… right?" he asked.

The woman looked at her son in anger.

"I'd like to see her try!" she said. "I know I haven't been a role model mother, but no one should try to take my child away from me."

Riku let out a sigh of relief he didn't realize he had been holding in. He was exhausted. With his mother slowly rocking him, back and forth, back and forth, he fell asleep.

}:{

The biggest shock came right next morning.

His mother hadn't yelled for him to come downstairs, which in itself was odd enough, and Riku ended up sleeping in. Eventually, he raced down the stairs to leave, he came across both his parents sitting at the kitchen table. Around them, the silence was… unsettling would be a good word.

His mother held a letter in her hands.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. He felt theabrupt and desperate urge to run out of the door and far away.

"What's going on?" he asked. His mother looked down again, refusing to meet his eye. Her husband rubbed her back as he looked up at his son.

"This letter was in the mail this morning," he explained. "Your… _mother_ wrote it."

"She's not my mother!" Riku snapped, feeling the ice slowly taking over his body. His father didn't argue with that.

"In this letter, she… she says that… that she wants to have you back. She wants you back in her life, and… and she wants full custody over you again."

If any other word came out of his father's mouth, Riku didn't listen; he couldn't listen.

She couldn't… could she?

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all for reading, and I hope to see you soon :)<strong>

**Reviews make my day. Take care!**

**- Anne  
><strong>


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